If you are a Broadway fan as I am, you probably have hundreds of thousands of song lyrics stored in your brain. And if, like Victor Legarreta, you are tasked with putting together a musical revue, how do you choose the songs?
I was once faced with a similar situation. Another singer and I and a pianist had to come up with an hour-long show. We put our heads together to brainstorm. Do you know any songs from My Fair Lady? Do you know any songs from Sound of Music? Do you know any songs from Fiddler? Voila! We had traveled across Europe and had a theme: Around the World on Broadway.
Legarreta chose to showcase songs around the story of a father trying to introduce nearly a hundred years of Broadway history to a son who is only interested in Dear Evan Hansen.
That son, played by young River Reed in the performance I saw, gets a turn at "Gary, Indiana" from Music Man. But what about the adult performers? How did Legarreta narrow down who would sing what?
Did some of the cast members originally sing a song in a high school production? Or was there a number they always yearned to sing? What bass baritone doesn't long to reach for that rumbling low note in "Ol' Man River"? What mezzo doesn't want to belt out "Memory," with or without a cat costume? What tenor hasn't posed in front of the mirror in a Phantom mask? What perky soprano doesn't know how to be "Popular"?
The moment I got goosebumps was during the quintet from West Side Story, but rest assured many other songs drew shouts of approval from the audience.
Kudos to all the singers as well as to the four instrumentalists for this nostalgic musical journey from Show Boat to Hamilton with brief stops at Oklahoma, South Pacific, Guys and Dolls, Hello Dolly, Les Miz, and the aforementioned Evan Hansen, among other shows.
What's missing? Lerner and Loew, Comden and Green, and more of my beloved Sondheim. Maybe Legarreta is saving those for another revue. We can only hope. In the meantime, enjoy this delicious appetizer.
For tickets, call 239.278.4422.
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